


Meant To Be

by fairytalehearts



Series: Songfics...Sort of [3]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Police, Dreams, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-26
Updated: 2015-11-09
Packaged: 2018-04-17 09:45:55
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 15,283
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4662051
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fairytalehearts/pseuds/fairytalehearts
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Oliver has had nightmares ever since he broke up with high school girlfriend, Felicity Smoak.She comes back into his life and it makes him wonder- are they meant to be?. Inspired by the song "Meant to Be" by Parachute</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> If you would like to listen to the song it's on [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=783wsUQsk0U) or [Spotify](https://play.spotify.com/track/3SAqw0mM2pihDo5lkhY0Ez).
> 
> This fic barely fits the song but this is what I wrote, lol.  
> Do people like waiting for chapters? Last fic I posted the whole thing, but I'll stagger this one out.

DISCLAIMER: This story features Dreams, Flashbacks and Present Day parts.

Each day in the story features a dream from Oliver, so some chapters do not have a dream (because he is not dreaming). 

YEARS indicate a flashback. DAY of the week indicates that there has been a new day in the story.

 

 

* * *

**MONDAY**

 

Oliver turned over in his sleep, the sterile feeling of the sleep study room gone.

He always knew he was dreaming but he was powerless to change his fate, in real life or in the dream. Today, he was walking through a forest, his quiver on his back and a bow in his hands.

He was hunting and just as he was about to kill a deer, a hand goes to his arm. The sudden jolt to his system makes him stumble on a branch, the deer running away, and Oliver would turn to the disturbance and Felicity would laugh at him losing his focus.

He had not seen Felicity in over ten years. He had no idea what she looked like now, but however he had aged her in his head made her even more beautiful than she was in high school.

Years of therapy, sleeping pills and even a psychic had told him the same thing: he had unresolved issues with her and that was the source of all his problems. He just needed to be cleared for his Detective test and he would get back to his strange version of normal.

“Let’s go home, Oliver.”

He nodded in the dream, Felicity grabbing his arm and talking about her mother, and some of the new plants she’d seen during her walk in the forest. They ended up at a cave and he dropped her hand to enter the cave first and when he turned around she wasn’t there.

He woke up screaming, like he had every day for the past ten years and sighed.

Checking his messages, the captain wanted him in his office ten minutes ago. Fuck.

Taking the slip of paper from Dr. Yamishiro, he tried to get his nerves to calm down. The dreams always made him feel like crap, but today’s really put him through the ringer.

“You called her Persephone today. Maybe you should find this woman and find some closure.” Tatsu suggested, “This isn’t helping and your REM sleep is getting worse. You can’t keep this up, Oliver.”

She was right. But what were the odds that he’d find his high school girlfriend before his Detective license test tomorrow?

**

Felicity tapped her foot impatiently against the floor glancing up and down the hallway waiting for any signs of life. They had called her down to the police station and let her sit inside the captain’s empty office for the past twenty minutes.

“My apologies, Ms. Smoak. My name is Captain Lance and- we have a bit of a –delicate situation.”

Felicity had consulted with the police on several different cases and had given expert testimony on a handful of other cases, whatever they needed help with would be handled with the utmost professionalism-

“It’s alright, Captain. I mean you have my number for this sort of thing.” Felicity made a cat-like batting motion with her hand and then thought better of it. Which made the whole the whole thing more awkward-

The captain’s frown was a bit of an overreaction.

“-I’m so sorry I’m late.”

Felicity knew that voice. It haunted her dreams. Oliver Queen. Ex-boyfriend. Trying to glance over at him without looking too obvious, the gawky teenager had apparently taken part in the Captain America program because he definitely did not look the same. He was all muscly and put together and- well hot.

He also didn’t fucking recognize her. No double take, no acknowledgement.

Which made her kick her high school self for mooning over him. Her never ending list of regrets included a couple of trysts with him in public, having dinner with his family and then when they went off to college he couldn’t get away fast enough.

“Good. I only need to say this once. We need the two of you to get us access to Carter Bowen at your high school reunion and then pose as a couple to get into his house.”

Oliver looks to the captain and even from his profile she can tell his forehead is crinkling in the middle.

“How are we supposed to pose as a couple at the reunion? I went to high school with Carter, which I assume is why you picked me, but what about her?” He had this way of digging himself in deeper and instead of shutting up he just made everything so much worse. Asshole.

Oliver looked at her and she cannot believe he didn’t recognize her-

She didn’t look that different, maybe her hair was blonde but she couldn’t believe the audacity on that asshole, entitled, sonofabitch didn’t remember how he tore out her heart and smashed it into a million tiny pieces.

Oliver leaned over to get a good look at her, still not seeing it.

“We dated for two years. Your birthday is May 16th. Your sister, Thea is four years younger than us. Your father is a deep sea fisherman and your mother is a lawyer? Homecoming Dance junior year you talked me into losing my virginity behind the bleachers?!?”

His gaze moves to her crossed legs (where he spent most of senior year between) and then to her face.

“Holy Shit.”

Lance took his cue to leave.

“You two catch up. We’ll contact you about the briefing meeting before the reunion. Just sit tight, and make sure you click yes on the Facebook invite. Ms. Smoak. Officer Queen.”

Felicity made sure she ran out of there as fast as possible.

**

**2004**

New high schools sucked.

Starling Prep had closed due to some scandal with the headmaster and the money or something and on the third day of class, the children of Star City’s Elite were slumming at Star City High School. Most of the other kids in the school went to boarding school, only a handful of them were sent to public school.

The school was only three blocks from the house so he really had no excuse. He would try out for sports and whatever took him he’d take.

But until then he was the loser new kid with no friends.

“Here. Sit.” A brunette smiled, clearing off all her books that were covering an entire picnic table near a tree. The books were for more advanced classes than she was taking- and he’s sure they were college textbooks.

“Are you a Junior?”

“Yeah.”

Oliver held the book that said “College Physics” as his explanation, “Then why are you taking college classes?”

“I still need to graduate and my parents won’t let me go to college until I’m 18. So I do PSEO. I should have a four-year degree by the time I graduate and then I can go to grad school at MIT.”

 “Don’t you have- like friends?”

Felicity frowned at him, “You think _I’m_ a nerd.”

The table quickly filled out with other people, apparently all of the books weren’t hers.

“Barry- Caitlin- Cisco- Ray- Leonard- Hartley- Carter and Sara. This is Oliver Queen.”

Oliver didn’t remember telling her his name, but he waved at the others nonetheless and accepted a handful of things from the people at the table. “We adopt a new kid each year. Sara was last year so we’ve learned to assimilate non-nerds.”

Comic books, copies of video games and an iPod were shoved into his backpack. The nine of them memorized his schedule and nodded appreciatively before talking over each other in some weird sort of bartering system. They were apparently going to walk him to class- all damn day. 

“We’re going to BFF’s.” Felicity informed him. “We’ll be here at lunch if you want.”

The group scattered, leaving him alone with Felicity. She scribbled “MTB” on the front of his Chemistry Notebook and the two of them walked across the Quad to the science rooms, Oliver sitting down next to Felicity and Ray in the front of the classroom.

“Ms. Smoak?”

Class hadn’t even started and the teacher was already picking on her.

Felicity got up in front of the class and hooked up a laptop she’d procured out of her backpack to the projector. “Let’s talk about solvents.”

He had first and second period with Felicity and for the rest of the day one of the group members showed him around, found his locker and told him the optimal routes to his classes. They had the school broken down complete with traffic reports that were texted to their phones in real-time and which vending machines had the best candy.

They all ate lunch together, talking over each other again. Sara mainly sat back and observed the group, amused by the interactions. At one point a chorus of “DUDE!” erupted with a lot of applause and high-fives.

Poking Felicity in the arm, he frowns.

“Oh. The House just banned all taxes on Internet access.”

“They tax internet usage?”

“Yeah. The more you know.” Felicity moved one hand in a semi-circle and the group giggled before going back to their six different conversations. “NBC used to do public service announcements and there was that rainbow- it was a joke.”

Oliver got the joke after a beat and smiled, “Do you want to get Starbucks after school?”

“I’d love to.” Felicity blushed standing up to dump her tray, “I’ll meet you here after sixth period?”

He feels clammy for some reason, her proximity to his body was putting him on edge. She orders a giant sugary mess and he indulges and puts some hazelnut in his coffee before paying. They talk about TV shows and their homework and how she tried to get into Starling Prep but they didn’t have enough scholarship money.

After their coffee “date” and doing some of his homework, he listened to Thea gush about how great public school was and smiled at his notebook.

“What does MTB mean?” His father asked between helping the two of them with their homework.

“Meant to Be.” Thea blurted, clapping her hands wildly.

**

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Monday- Noon**

She was going to focus on work.

She was definitely not cyber-stalking Oliver Jonas Queen.

Decent grades at NYU, three years as a beat cop before the Detective’s exam which he did not pass the physical. Which was impossible because he was in good shape. Really good shape. Got good grades in his criminology classes and even his professor’s private notes indicated that he could be recommended to Quantico once he’d put some time in the police force.

Transferred precincts, still didn’t pass.

Moved to back to Star City three weeks ago. His Detective’s test was tomorrow.

“Felicity? Oliver Queen is here to see you.”

Looking at her computer, she pulled up the security feed outside of her office and briefly debated the pros and cons of letting him into her office. Pro: His Broad Shoulders. Con: His jerky face.

Oliver was never an idiot and he turned towards the camera, holding the Big Belly Burger bag up. Tempting her poor hungry stomach with its delicious burgers. Growling on cue, she gave in to her baser instincts and told Nyssa to let him in.

He sat the bag down on her desk and she tore into it, grabbing her bacon burger and biting into it. She may have been moaning. Or possibly drooling. Or both. He was talking but she honestly wasn’t paying attention because she was so hungry and the burger was perfect-

“I’m sorry about earlier. You still take apologies in the form of fast food, right?” Oliver sat down and started eating his own bag of food- a chicken sandwich with vegetables, no fries, but a slice of apple pie. He was the same. But she wasn’t and she wasn’t going to be charmed by him.

Felicity turned her chair to face him using her tongue to make sure there weren’t onions stuck in her teeth.

“You mean earlier when you didn’t recognize me, or that pervy way you stared at my legs in front of your captain, or when you broke up with me in the airport on my way to MIT?” Felicity asked, her head cocked to the side.

He was silent as usual and she dug into the bag for a few fries to fling at his face.

“For all of it. You didn’t deserve that. But I want you to know I take my job seriously and I really need to get on the Captain’s good side.”

Felicity decides not to mention that she had been cyberstalking him since she left the precinct or that he needed this case to go well to get promoted. She’d always known that Carter was a creep but after reading the dossier on his illegal activities he was definitely a super creep.

“You’ve been cyberstalking me?” Oliver huffed, frowning but his eyes were amused.

Damn her unfortunate mouth.

And damn his gorgeous mouth for being in her office.

Work. She was good at work. He hands her some more files and she reads over them and she can’t help but fall into old patterns with him. She had her assistant bring coffee for him the way he liked, and when they poured over the data and his plan-

She couldn’t help but miss him.

“What exactly is Smoak Consulting?”

-Until he opened his big fat mouth.

Finally her contempt and rage returned to her, “Google it. I’m busy hacking into all of our social media profiles to make it look like we’ve been married for the past three years.”

Oliver moved to lean over her computer screen “tisking” and some of the things she was writing.

“I would never have written that.”

Felicity looks up at him, not breaking eye contact and corrected the sentence to, _I’m a self-entitled jerk who can’t get over himself. Saw Felicity at Starbucks and she ignored me so I was intrigued._

He gently moved her wrists away from the keyboard and typed amazingly well for a self-proclaimed technology caveman.

_Happy came back into my life today._

This time he was running out of the room.

**

**2004**

“Felicity is not really a nicknamable name.” Felicity commented looking at her drink cup where her name had once again not been spelled correctly. To her knowledge, there was only one way to spell Felicity but this week's cup that read: Fleur-Setee made her doubt her ability to speak in English. 

_Oliver_ was just as hard to spell as Felicity, yet the barista who liked to wink at her boyfriend seemed to be able to spell that just fine.

Boy. Friend. She really needed to start thinking about those words in two phrases but her brain seemed to already assume they were dating. Even though the extent of their relationship was coffee after school and some light studying. And lunch. They were quite couple-y at lunch. Trays were carried. Books were carried. Seats were saved near each other. That sort of thing.

Oliver had suggested she give a nickname like Effie or Elle if it bothered her that much. Neither of those names suited her and she was a little insulted he even asked.

“My little sister calls me Ollie.” He supplied, cracking open his Algebra 2 book for probably the first time since the trimester started. In fact he was very interested in his book all of a sudden, seeing his lacrosse player body hunch into the booth was almost- cute.

If he weren’t viciously trying to hide from the woman who had just walked in with her daughter.

“THERE HE IS MOM, SEE?!”

Thea Queen, pulled her mother towards them and clapped her hands excitedly seeing the two of them together. “My name’s Thea. I’m 12. That means I’m old enough to drink hot chocolate like its coffee in a coffee shop. Alone.”

The “No” that Mrs. Queen and Oliver chorused said otherwise. Oliver sat up in his seat and did his own version of an introduction. “Mom, Felicity. Felicity, this is my mother Moira.”

The two of them shake hands and Mrs. Queen disappears to order her own coffee.

“I like you, Felicity.” Thea announces, breaking up the silence.

“You don’t even know me, Thea.” Felicity chuckled turning back to her Health notes.

“You make Ollie happy. I looked up the meaning of your name and it means Happy so it’s like a twofer. That’s the perfect nickname. Happy!”

She was probably the least happy person she’d ever known in her life.  But without fail, Oliver had instructed every one of their friends to call her Happy at all times and Cisco even had her name changed in the school database to Happy Smoak.

How he got all of their teachers to say it, she would never know.

“Happy Smoak just rolls off the tongue.” Oliver was smiling and teasing her and she really didn’t have the heart to tell him to stop.

At one point the freshman she was mentoring called her Ms. Happy Smoak and that’s where she drew the line.

**

**MONDAY- Night**

Pacing, he reviewed the materials Felicity had sent home with him twice before reviewing his notes for the Detective Exam. The written and the gun certification would be no problem. But the physical usually flagged him for a psych eval and his past failings meant they would look at him with a critical eye.

He had been in his sweats since he’d been at home and while he finished doing dishes, the knock at the door interrupted his stressing out.

Felicity, eating a tub of ice cream was obviously upset.

“Captain Lance said it would looks suspicious if I slept at my own apartment.” Felicity rolled her luggage in and proceeded to explain how ridiculous the whole situation was because they obviously were not married and anyone in Star City would be able to figure that out even with her mad hacking skills.

She went into the bedroom and closed the door, leaving him to his pacing.

The door opened a few minutes later, Felicity in the world’s shortest nightgown, and he definitely knew he was dreaming when she wrapped her legs around him and forced a kiss on his mouth.

He walked them backwards to the couch and they sat there kissing until he woke up in the morning.

The real nightmare was that she wasn't there when he woke up and that was almost worse.

**


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She was good with computers and bad with him

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Trailer Weekend. I figured now was a good of a time as any to update. This part is really long, lol.
> 
> This is where it gets explicit, folks. WARNING: Also includes underage sex (teenagers in love do that sometimes)

**Tuesday- Noon**

“How did it go?” Felicity asked without looking up from her computer screen.

Oliver looked around- her assistant hadn’t been at her desk and there was no way she was psychic-

Felicity pointed to the security badge clipped to his leather jacket as an explanation, “You’re not wearing the uniform so I assume it went well.”

Oliver felt his cheeks warm up but he nodded, “I passed.”

He owed it all to her but he couldn’t never tell her that. This case, her presence were all affecting him in ways he couldn't have predicted.

Everything had been set up at the reunion: their RSVP’s, cameras on all the entrances, and his friend at the FBI had been briefed about the possibility of a joint task force in case the extent of Carter’s operation was larger than expected. The only thing Lance was concerned with was their believability as a couple. Things about their apartment, their life, she had worked ten years of memories in to an afternoon, and all he’d had to do was pose for some photographs and smile.

And she obviously still hated him so that was going to be a problem.

And whenever she was mad at him, he got mad at her which made no sense. If she was going to act like a crazy bitch, he could dish it out just the same. Which he knew was not helpful, yet he did it all the same.

“Captain Lance thought it would be a good idea if I stayed at your place until the reunion.”

Felicity glanced up from her keyboard and rolled her eyes at him, “Liar.”

“I’m not lying.” He had always been a horrible liar when it came to her but somehow the fact that she was pointing it out made his cheeks even warmer.

“Yes you are, your ears get all red and you stare at the floor like that time you said you were sick when you really went out partying with Tommy the night before and I had to find out on Myspace.”

He _was_ sick, so technically that wasn’t lying. And the fact that she remembered all of the stupid things he did just made him madder.

Well he was staying at her place anyway so she was just going to get over it. He was grumpy and cranky and really the source of his problems was right in front of him- all he needed to do was just explain himself- just get it off his chest and things would be fine and maybe she’d forgive him and maybe she wouldn’t-

He didn’t think it would bode well for him if she didn’t forgive him.

Prepping for this case had taken up the majority of their week at the precinct and he was ready to take action on this case. Whomever was bankrolling Carter was doing an excellent job at covering their tracks and even Felicity- doing whatever it was that she did in the IT consulting industry- couldn’t catch his partners. They had done all they could do before planting the bug on him, yet he couldn't make himself leave her office.

She took client meetings, he got lunch and by the time it was time for her to leave for the day she really didn’t think he was serious. He had parked next to her in the garage and something about his black Jaguar made her shake her head and mumble ‘typical’.

“I can drive my own car.”

“Or I could drive and we could stop for dinner at Mia Milano’s.”

Felicity squints at him, obviously upset but she slides into his car anyway. “Bribing me with food is just going to make me fat and even more angry at you. God, I’ll have to take up jogging or something else to really sweat off the calories from the pasta I am about to ingest.”

Oliver had some ideas about how they could burn some calories but he kept them to himself.

**

**2004**

He had been kinda-sorta-almost dating Felicity Smoak for the better part of a month when Homecoming comes up and he hates dancing, and hates everything, but Coach Wilson said he would definitely get some field time at the Lacrosse game next week so he should at least pretend to have school spirit. So he drove his father’s pickup truck to her house to invite her to the dance.

“-Must be the Pizza.” Ray’s voice comes through the door and Oliver panics. He was interrupting a date between the two of them and he had read their coffee dates wrong and oh god, he wanted to die right there.

“Oliver. Hi.” Ray looks confused to why he’s there and Felicity opens the door up more and he sees Sara wrapped in Ray’s jacket, sitting on the floor.

“I, um, wanted to know if you wanted to go to Homecoming with me. As my girlfriend.”

The smile Felicity gives him is blinding, and she wraps her arms around his neck and jumps, his arms going out to catch her. He, unfortunately is a teenage boy and can’t really control anything while she stays there but kisses his cheek and leaves him and Ray on her front porch.

“So, uh, you and Sara.” A weight had definitely been lifted from his shoulders.

“Yep.” The two of them standing on her front step must have looked like idiots, but his hands were in his jean pockets and aside from their regular lunches and the occasional class together, he really didn't know that much about Ray.

“You need a ride home?”

Ray looked to the closed door where they both decided the girls were not coming out any time soon, “Yeah, that’d be great, Buddy.”

Dropping Ray off at his house, he did all of the normal things he would do for a school dance. He went to his mother’s favorite florist and picked out a corsage, he rented a tux and a week later at the dance, he was ready.

His bowtie was black, but he had a pink pocket square tucked into his pocket. Pink, he had learned from Barry, was her favorite color. Which meant her dress would most likely be pink and girls liked it when you matched, right? Borrowing his mother’s car, he rang the bell to the Smoak residence, and Felicity’s mother answered the door- frowning.

“Um, Oliver, Sweetie-”

The door opened, where Felicity was dressed in a Star City High School Archers hoodie, bright green and yellow ribbons braided into her hair, black face paint under her eyes. Her jean shorts were frayed and even her Adidas sneakers were green.

“I’m just gonna go- stuff my face into a bag and never come out.” Oliver nodded, handing the box with the corsage to Felicity and turning on his heel and wondering if he could get into boarding school last minute and never come back.

He made it to his car before Felicity bolted from her house to slam him against the car. Had it not been so shocking, he would have found it to be incredibly hot.

“I should have explained. I’m sorry, I keep forgetting you’re new. I bet at Starling Prep you had lots of fancy dances. Here we- watch football. And the dance is in the gym. In our school spirit gear.”

Felicity dragged him inside the house, and raided her father’s closet for his old t-shirt and practically stripped him naked getting him to change. Putting the grease paint around his eyes, she was definitely too close for comfort.

“There. You’re perfect.” Felicity held up a handheld mirror to reveal his face.

She had slipped the corsage on her wrist sometime during the wardrobe change, and she takes his hand and they walk to the school, the screams from the football field heard from a block away. He points out his house as they pass it and they take their seats next to Sara and Ray and he has fun.

They win by 7 points and he’s hoarse from screaming and when the game is over the crowd dissipates almost instantly. The freshman team would be in the morning to clean up apparently, and since no food is served at the “dance” the rest of their school goes for pizza or Big Belly Burger.

Just when he’s going to ask if they were going to walk or drive, Felicity pulls him underneath the bleachers. Between heated kisses and smeared face paint, she unzips her shorts, dropping them in the grass next to them. He didn’t think his first time would be in public, let alone under the bleachers, but he shucks off his own pants and digs for the condom in his wallet.

She kneels on the ground and rolls it down his length using the metal for the bleachers to hold onto while she wrapped her legs around his middle.

She stills when he’s finally inside of her and wiggles around a bit, making him wince. He wasn’t going to last long at all at this rate and the wiggling was great. _Really great._

“This feels different than I thought it would.” She admits biting her lip. “Do you wanna touch my boobs?”

He can’t speak actual words, but he worms one hand underneath her tank top and hoodie, and caresses her hard peaks before she starts to slip down his body. It’s awkward and messy, and good, but he squeezes her ass while she bounces up and down and when she comes first, he is pleasantly surprised. He can’t think straight and he’s sweating but he squeezes one of her butt cheeks until the sensation of pleasure leaves him.

“I wasn’t expecting that.” Oliver admits, kissing her cheek. “We’ll get better at it with practice.”

They go to meet the others and for some reason he can’t stop smiling because he found a girl that was totally casual about having sex with him just five minutes ago. They eat pizza and since there are always ten of them someone is always there to save seats. Fortunately they were the last ones into the packed restaurant and there was only one chair left, Happy sitting in his lap for the whole meal. Afterwards they head for the gym and they dance to bad pop music and when Felicity gets sweaty half way through, she hands him her hoodie and he holds it.

Watching her spin and twirl and hop around with Caitlin and Sara is probably the happiest he’d ever seen a human being in his meager existence. He walks her home and drives his mother’s car back to the house in one piece- his parents surprised that he wasn’t walking in drunk.

“Homecoming is- different here.” Oliver explains, heading up to his room.

Felicity comes over for breakfast and they eat cereal and his parents go to the yacht club to schmooze with her clients, and spends the afternoon between her pale thighs. The first time wasn’t great but the second was enough to get her nose out of her books and by the fourth time she was screaming his name into his pillow.

“Best. Boyfriend. Ever.”

Oliver wanted to live up to those words more than anything.

**

**TUESDAY- NIGHT**

For this first time in almost ten years, he doesn’t remember his dream. Or being in his dream. Or anything dream related. Maybe it was his close proximity to Felicity or her couch or-

Adjusting his arm over his chest he frowned when he saw the blonde head of hair there.  Maybe he was dreaming. It wouldn’t be the first time he thought he was awake. Usually his dreams were more melodramatic, not the two of them sleeping on a couch.

“Just because we had a fight does not mean you sleep on the couch.”

Her words didn't make any sense. Felicity doesn’t look him in the eye, but he runs a hand over her back and settles into the couch. He doesn’t say anything in response but she mumbles about a road trip and going home and he’s not really paying attention because he’s tired and she wasn’t moving from his chest. He accepted it for what it was: Nothing.

She kisses him, the first time in ten years, the first time in his dreams and she tastes like Mint Chip Ice Cream and there are cookie crumbs on her shirt, but he obliges and opens up his mouth to hers. It was gently and lazy, her tongue swiping at his own with no real purpose. Her body reacts, her hips rotating, and his body has already reacted, his erection straining in his boxers.  When his hand drops down to grip her ass to hold her against him she pulls away, a disappointed look on her sleepy features.

 “Come back to bed, Oliver.”

She gets up from the couch, taking the comforter with her, and walks back towards her bedroom without another word.

The couch is colder without her (and his comforter) and he tries to go back to sleep and fails miserably. The sun comes up and he's still frustrated and horny and maybe he was asleep because she trots out of the bedroom in different pajamas and starts making coffee before she remembers he was there.

Closing his eyes, he hoped that it wasn’t a dream but she doesn’t say anything but she does look thoroughly flushed.

He liked to think it was from his stubble but he couldn’t be sure unless he got a good look at her face. Stealing a piece of toast off her plate, he hoped he made it to her bathroom without her noticing his newly-revived erection. 

Whatever happened last night meant there was a chance between them and he planned on taking it.

(After a long cold shower)

**

**WEDNESDAY- 4PM**

 “You do not need to stalk me to be my fake husband.”

Felicity was angrily packing because apparently Oliver thought it was a genius idea that he stay at her house since he got his shiny new detective’s badge. He also thought it would be “romantic” to go to the hotel the night before with little to no notice.

Maybe she had plans to watch Game of Thrones. Maybe it was movie night with Caitlin. Maybe she just didn’t want to spend another amazing awkward evening at her house while he was grumpy and she was awkward and conflicted because he was too man-pretty to be sleeping shirtless on her couch. And she specifically remembered him wearing a t-shirt the first night, because Oliver Queen was notoriously chilly. Physically and emotionally.

Although that morning he had been oddly- smug? Proud? About _something_ that he of course did not tell her about. Maybe Captain Lance was applauding their hard work on the case but, yet again, Oliver was not one to share.

Throwing whatever she could grab into her pink overnight bag she stopped expectantly in front of the doorway waiting for him to move. He had apparently said something and was waiting for a response. But she tuned him out the second he came up with his stupid plan and now she just wanted to get it over with.

By Friday they would be done and over with and maybe she would finally get him out her system. And since none of her friends were coming to the reunion (because they had important jobs in Central City) the reunion was going to suck. A lot.

“Well, come on.” She really wanted to get to the hotel before traffic became a nightmare.

His hand moves up her neck to her face and she hates the endorphins but she blushes down to her toes and he kisses her, one hand idly caressing her ear lobe.

“I am not stalking you. I am protecting our cover.”

Her lips burn with his empty promises and she’s too angry to really look at him, but she kisses him back so she can have the last word. He had gotten better at kissing- not that he was bad at it in high school, but he had never had a serious enough girlfriend to be pictured on the internet with, so she assumed he had not been kissing anyone in a while. 

“I can protect myself.” She makes sure her heels click a little louder than normal down the hallway and she plops herself into the passenger seat of his convertible. Kissing him was not the right response. Kissing led to smiling and happy feelings when she wasn't ready to jump back into that with Oliver. But the kissing was more than enjoyable and while watching the people on the sidewalks she really considers kissing him again. He drives them to the hotel in complete silence, thanking the valet before going to the trunk and grabbing their bags.

She’s fed up with being angry at him, but she’s not ready to forgive him but she needs to do something productive with their time and when they reach the hotel room, she kicks of her heels and starts in on him: Yelling about things she didn’t even know were bothering her, his ridiculous hair and his ridiculous abs and this stupid plan. She was good with computers and bad with him and then he was yelling back at her for being unprofessional and immature, and then he started in on how sorry he was and then she was crying and then he was crying-

“-Fuck.”

“What?” Oliver growled, his eyes wild. Emotions didn’t bode well with him, his breath coming in angry puffs.

“Let’s  _fuck_.” That was the one thing they could apparently do right and she needed some kind of end to her eternal Oliver-torment.

Grabbing his stupid ugly tie, she pulled him in close fusing their mouths together in a storm she couldn’t control. His hands undid her zipper and snagged her underwear down in the process. Already sweaty, she didn’t bother removing her bra, but she kicked him towards the bed, his body bouncing on the mattress while he nudged his shoes off.

“I am so mad at you I can’t even look at you.” Oliver was itching for a fight but she had resigned herself to her baser urges. So had he, if digging into luggage for a condom was any indication.

Ripping it open with her teeth in a truly badass fashion she handed it back to him and growled her response:

“Then don’t.”  Groping him through his boxers, she got his pants to his ankles while he put the condom on, she straddled him on the bed before promptly turning around so she was facing the other direction. Her knees burned but bent over on top of his erection and hissed in pleasure.

She had only seen this done once on _Black Sails_ but she understood the physics of it. Girl on top does the exact same thing as normal, except backwards. And it was better than amazing. It was mind-numbingly great because she didn’t have to stare at his smug, asshole face.

Not even moving yet, Felicity rocked her hips back and forth and briefly wondered if she was making a huge mistake until his hand gripped the soft flesh of her lower back and urged her on.

She couldn’t even tell up from down, just that the more she moved the less her knees hurt and everything just felt amazing and great and his name was a prayer on her lips that varied on whether she was coming up or down and she didn’t know what to do with her hands but one found its way down her own body stopping at her tiny nub.

Just the smallest tickle was enough for her to reach her orgasm moaning Oliver’s name while she could feel his thighs jerking trying to resist.

Looking back over her shoulder, she saw him, with his eyes closed struggling to keep his cool.

“Oliver. Look at me.”

She clenched around him to get his attention, halting her movements. He opened his eyes hesitantly, like it was too bright for them to be open and when their gazes locked she knew he was done for.

His nails dug into the flesh of her back and she resumed her movements ready for round two.

“Fuck, Happy.” He always swore when he came before he was ready.

Coming hard, he tried to fight the moan from his lips but she resumed riding him and he lost it. He always promised everything between the swear words, telling her he loved her was par for the course. She could feel the blood prickling on her back but she didn’t care because his stamina had not changed at all. He had not changed at all. And as much as she would want him to be better and to change, that was who he was. 

Thinking about how it all went wrong was something she did not indulge in much anymore but it happened and while she normally felt sad and disappointed, she was now just confused because he was already hard again and she had never come harder in her life. They were meant to be. And she had forgiven him for the shitty thing he’d done to her and she was going to enjoy their time together.

Because she loved him, despite his flaws. And that was okay because she had already hacked his phone and getting her revenge on him if he left again would be her life's work.

Rolling off him she finally felt at peace with herself for the first time in years.

But he was the needy little asshole he’d always been and while the prospect of coming again was exciting, she felt bad for him. Halting her movements, she swung her leg over and off his body. Removing the condom she tossed it into the garbage before taking him in her mouth as an apology.

“If you are trying to kill me, it’s working.” Oliver groaned his hand flexing into the sheets.

Removing her mouth from his erection with a loud ‘pop’ she looked up at him and growled, “Shut up and pull my hair.”

Doing as he was told, he got a firm grip on her ponytail and tried not to pull at all and was failing. She liked that they could do different things in the bedroom, no shame. No judgement but something about his hands wrapped around her hair was exciting. Mumbling her security passwords around his cock she smiled evilly when he did as he was told, and gave one good yank before coming inside her mouth thirty seconds later.

**


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In all of his preparations, Oliver had completely forgotten about Tommy.

**Wednesday-Night**

Felicity braided the girl’s hair with laser precision, not even looking at the hair in front of her but into his eyes. She was talking about planning something important, it could have been the girl’s birthday or something for work but he was too preoccupied at the little girl getting her hair braided.

She looked just like Felicity, the Felicity he remembered with the dark brown hair and gorgeous blue eyes.

“Oliver, I’ve done this a million times. Stop worrying.”

He was worried about whatever she was talking about and he didn’t like it. There was a point in all of his dreams where he realized he wasn’t dreaming but lately he’d known immediately that it wasn’t real. The real Felicity was asleep beside him, her blonde hair much shorter than the woman in his dream.

“Okay. Done. Now time for school.”

Felicity clipped a badge onto her suit jacket that read “Queen Inc.” and looked at him expectantly.

“Are you driving or am I?”

He didn’t want to drive. He knew something horrible was going to happen, so he handed her the keys. Dropping the little girl off at school with a wave, she headed downtown to where Merlyn Global used to be located and just as she was pulling into the parking garage a semi-truck came barreling towards them.

She was driving right for it.

Speeding up, even.

Oliver jerked the wheel out of her hands but instead of turning the impact towards his own body, he was suddenly in the driver’s seat, the truck running right through Felicity.

**

**WEDNESDAY 7PM**

Gasping, he covered up his reaction to his nightmare by smiling at Felicity's foot poking into his side.

“You are too good at that.” Oliver huffed, trying to blink away the sleepiness.

One minute they were arguing, the next they were naked- he on his back while she pulled out some truly porn star quality moves on top of him. She was facing the wrong way on the bed, her toe coming up to poke his face.

“I think I have sheet burn. Is that a thing?” Felicity chuckled, “Also are you still grossed out by feet?”

Yes he was.

But Felicity was practically naked, properly fucked him and he can’t be mad at her for her perfectly manicured toes. She had lost all of her shyness or something else he couldn’t place because although he had spent his formative years exceedingly horny she had never once agreed to shower with him.

He needed a nap but he stood there under the much too cold spray and watched the water move down her body. If it hadn’t been so damn cold he’d suggest round three- he wanted to revel in the physical nearness of their naked bodies while he could.

She might change her mind in ten minutes and he would respect that.

“We smell. We have a fancy reception to attend.”

Her hands lingered on his abs, the soap trailing down his legs. If they were really going to the reunion he would definitely suggest they skip it and stay in the shower until the water ran out.

But she enjoyed reaching up to run some shampoo in his hair and all too soon the shower was over.

He had a clean shirt in his bag and once he’d been properly dried off on the too tiny towel, she kicked him out to change and do her makeup. It took him a record fifteen minutes to get ready and he couldn’t help but feel like he’d been getting ready for their first date.

Slipping his wedding band back on, he shuffled his fingers liking the weight on his left hand. It matched the rings he bought Felicity with the shame money his mother had left him. Captain Lance suggested he grab something from evidence lost and found but he couldn’t give Felicity someone else’s rings.

Finally out of the bathroom, Felicity did a little twirl and he couldn’t help but feel his groin tighten at the sight of her all done up. For him. Just for him.

They walked down the ballroom, and Oliver took whatever was on the waiter’s tray and double fisted it, watching her bend over the table to get their nametags. Hers read “Felicity Queen” and the girl he vaguely remembered as the Cross Country captain admired the ring before she stuck the “Oliver Queen” nametag on him.

Oliver was possessed.

Nothing else explained it. She was wearing a normal dress. A Felicity Dress. It wasn’t too short or too tight or even brightly colored. He was working. He needed to be professional.

But damn if her ass didn’t look amazing. He couldn’t keep his eyes off it and maybe it was the three whiskey sours or the fact that the finally got to the stupid reunion or he was emotional from working so closely with her-

“You okay, Babe?” Felicity asked leaning closer to him to hear his response over the music.

He nuzzled the side of her ear tried to bite back the moan in his throat, “I’ll be great once I’ve fucked you out of that dress.”

His hand slides to her rear end, and presses their bodies together so she can feel his arousal. No one seemed to be shocked that they were still dating, and no one seemed overly eager to talk to them. She had the audacity to look scandalized anyway and swatted his hands away.

“We’re _working_.”

“I don’t care.”

He had watched her pack her tiny little underthings into her suitcase and he didn’t care if they pulled his badge, but he would be inside her tonight if it was the last thing he did.

Things were good between them. Things were always good between them if he were being honest and while most boys in their high school may have been players, he (being with the smartest girl in the school) was probably the only one getting laid regularly after the “safe sex” talk he had with her.

Which meant his libido knew what it was missing the ten years apart. Waking up screaming had killed his sex life and that was something he was prepared to remedy immediately. In the coat check. Grabbing her face and turning it towards him he leaned in to kiss her-

“HAPPY?”

In all of his preparations, Oliver had completely forgotten about Tommy.

**

**2005**

Lounging on the quad was probably one of the only activities the two of them agreed upon. He, wanting to nap would sleep, his head on her lap while she read recreationally before class.

They got odd looks every once and awhile but any potential scandal was negated by the fact they did appear to be studying.

Even if her ass was asleep and she was distracted by Oliver’s nuzzling against the top of her thighs and murmuring contentedly in his sleep.

It was the first day of senior year and she was already ready for the California heat to die down, Oliver already asleep in her lap while she leaned the brick steps. How he could sleep there was a puzzle to her but she ruffled his hair affectionately until someone interrupted their solitude.

“Barry, for the hundredth time, yes, you should ask out the girl you’ve been crushing on. Just get it over with.” Felicity didn’t even bother looking up from her book. Barry had a crush on Iris since preschool. It was about time he did something about it.

“Um. I was actually here to speak to the dude in your lap.”

The glare from the sun was blinding but she had seen the boy (man? Teenager?) in pictures at the Queen House. He was rich and had gone to boarding school when Starling Prep closed down but his backpack and expensive looking sunglasses in her proximity said otherwise.

What little she had gleaned from Oliver about his former friends in his former life was that upon their exit of Starling Prep the majority had been shipped off to Utah and promptly ended any and all communication with him.

He and Tommy had grown up together and usually she didn’t like to press but-

“Felicity. Today is the day!”

Tommy looks to Barry and Barry looks at Tommy before squatting down next to them. Caitlin, Ray and Cisco followed and Leonard even, prompting Tommy to be left with the small patch of grass that would undoubtedly stain his designer khaki shorts.

Too bad.

Sara winked at Tommy before sitting down in Ray’s lap, the circle of friends obviously giving the newcomer space.

Oliver despite his emotional turmoil, huffed once, retrieving his sunglasses from the top her head.

“You think _I’m_ a nerd.” He grumbled, repeating her words from last year. Sitting up to address the group, “Tommy Merlyn- Cisco, Caitlin, Barry, Leonard, Ray and Sara.”

 _Ray and Sara_ was now a thing. They were no longer Ray or Sara. Just the two of them the perky blonde beaming everywhere and the quiet jock-looking nerd staring at her.

Feeling left out, Oliver waited for the mumbled hellos to point his thumb at her, “This is my Happy.”

“Happy has an actual name that is _Felicity_ and not a nickname that your sister gave me.”

“Happy. Happy works.” Tommy nodded already fitting in too well with the group, “So I got kicked out of boarding school and since my dear friend Oliver goes to public school, my mother thought it was appropriate to come here for my last two years of high school. She is also chaperoning all of my parties, which she is still making me have, and I am to invite you all to a back to school cocktail party- minus any alcohol.”

By Tommy’s rousing speech he assumed they would not want to go to the party but if there was even a chance that Malcolm or Rebecca would see them, they all needed jobs after college. Networking with the richest couple in Star City was a golden goose of an opportunity.

“We’ll be there!” Felicity scanned her internal memory banks, “Is your Mom’s favorite cookie still Ginger Snaps? I think my grandma has a recipe somewhere and maybe oh my god, I need to get flowers and a dress, I need a dress! And my ideas book, Oliver, where is my ideas book?”

“It was under the shirt you left at my house the last time I saw it.” He was smiling. Bastard.

“It’s creepy that you leave it folded on your desk and won’t let me take it home.” Felicity pointed out scrunching up her face at him. “Will you be my date to the ball, Cinderfella?”

“You’ve obviously never been to a cocktail party at the Merlyn Mansion, Happy.” Tommy groaned. Apparently they were not that type of party.

“We’ll make it fun.” Felicity smiled, twining her fingers in Oliver’s before getting up and heading to class.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “What are you two doing here? Together? After that thing with your Mom?”

“HAPPY!”

Tommy knew they were not dating. Tommy knew this for a fact because he was the one who got her the pity internship with her father which led to an actual internship after MIT and then her own company two years ago. He could blow their cover and the whole case against Carter with one loud admission.

Tommy was also already drunk.

“Thomas.” Felicity smiled holding her arms out to hug him. “How’s your mother doing?”

“Well, since she divorced my father for sleeping with Ollie’s Mom.”

Oliver had not told her that. How they managed to keep that out of the press was astounding. Mentally trying to think if she had seen any indication from the two parties, it must have been a long time ago since she had always seen them talking cordially at social events.

“Thea is Malcom’s daughter.”

Happy, Flirty Oliver was replaced with his assholish alter ego which she had been well acquainted with since their breakup. The two of them did not share any words and if there was one thing she knew to be true about Oliver was that he would protect Thea with his dying breath.

She was in Design Grad school, clothing or interior design or some weird combination of the two. He sent her money for fabric. She was on a scholarship.

Malcolm had wanted to pay for her schooling and she said no.

“What are you two doing here? Together? After that thing with your Mom?” Tommy asked confused at the two of them together.

“This is not the time, Tommy.” Oliver growled, his search for Carter suddenly more important than their conversation with Tommy. Classic Oliver Avoidance Technique #3.

“What about my mother?” Felicity asked, Oliver putting an arm behind her back leading her across the ballroom towards Carter.

He had gone to PSEO their last years in high school but that too was apparently a front for drug running at Star U.  Knowing all the things she knew about him now made her skin crawl.

“Oliver and Felicity. Such a shame we fell out of touch. It didn’t look like you two did though.”

Felicity held up her left hand, the modest engagement ring glinting in the lighting. It was a pretty ring and she assumed some well-meaning cop had taken it from evidence or something equally cop-like. “We’ve only been together for 12 years it was about time he asked me to marry him.”

Flirty Oliver is back and he shrugs, touching her arm, the cue to place the bug on him.

“I always knew we were meant to be.” Oliver told Carter, “How’s the family business?”

Felicity checked her phone while they talked, faking a trip to the bathroom to remotely clone his cellphone and pull his GPS information.

When she returned Oliver and Carter were gone, and Felicity had a distinct sense of déjà vu.

She hated the last time she felt this way and she wasn’t letting him get away from her again.

Especially when she was promised sex.

**

**2005**

Whipping her hair back and out of her face, Felicity adjusted her hands on Oliver’s chest so she could attempt to remove herself from his body. She felt sleepy and full and sweaty. She was definitely sweaty.  Looking over her shoulder, Oliver’s jersey was flung on top of the couch the two of them on his parent’s armchair.

She never thought she’d have a steady boyfriend in high school, let alone one that could knock the wind out of her chest. Or that sex was like- good. Like really good. Not awkward or unpleasant at all.

“If the words ‘I need to study’ come out of your mouth. I swear to god-” Oliver bit his lower lip and made his intentions clear.

“What? What could you possibly do after that-?”

Nipping the sensitive part of her ear he whispered all the dirty, dirty things he was going to do to her, which made her blood boil. She liked this, feeling sexy and wanted and-

Loved. She felt loved.

Especially if all the things he was promising about nipping his way down her body until she begged him never to study again.

“Not going to happen. I’m going to MIT.” Placing a final kiss to his cheek she crawled out of his lap she pulled on her underwear and her dress. Oliver, upset about his interrupted afternoon, went upstairs to grab her backpack.

Cleaning up in the living room, he lit a candle that smelled fruity and by the time his father came home everything was back to normal.

Robert looked over her shoulder at her notebook and frowned, “I think you missed a three.”

Felicity went over her work and she definitely missed a three. She may have been staring at Oliver’s brow, focused on his English homework.

“Thanks Rob.” Felicity smiled, erasing the eight and changing it to a three.

“I have an MBA from Harvard.” Robert Queen had apparently graduated at the top of his class and was groomed to take over his company, but when his wife Moira was pregnant with Oliver he gave it all up so she could pursue of being a lawyer. And he liked fishing on his boat. It worked out great for both of them.

Which is what she learned at dinner. Just the three of them. Her preferred combination (Save for Thea. Mrs. Queen was just plain creepy)

“My Dad is at work all the time too.” Felicity supplied helpfully, putting a hand over Oliver’s.

“The sad thing is that things are a lot happier when she’s not around.” Oliver grumbled, standing up to help his father with the dishes. Moira was out of town on a case and they were using the opportunity to have a girl’s weekend in New York.

They watched TV in the family room and around ten o’clock Rob stood up in the middle of a commercial break and announced that he was going to bed.

“Well. Good night kids. Oliver make sure you offer the poor girl a clean towel this time. Women are finicky about sharing towels with men.”

If Oliver’s eyes could bug out anymore they would fall out of their sockets.

Felicity shrugged over her mug of hot cocoa, “Where did you think I was getting the condoms from?”

She’s sure if 17 year old boys could have heart attacks he would be having one right now.

**

**Early Thursday Morning**

This time it wasn’t a dream but a memory.

They were sitting in her living room, she and her father huddled over a brochure looking at student housing near MIT. Harvard was close enough for her and Caitlin to be roommates for the first year and then hopefully when he figured out what he was going to do he could go to UMass sophomore year.

His father had money stashed away somewhere from when his grandfather owned most of Star City and promised him and that would pay for his tuition and housing.  He couldn’t help but think that in another life his father wouldn’t have just handed him a checking account but he was grateful.

Felicity’s mother came home from the diner and she kissed Mr. Smoak (they were not on a first name basis) and told Felicity to help bring groceries in from the car while Mr. Smoak headed back to the lab.

“You need to end it.”

Donna didn’t talk to him about anything, well _ever_ , and he was honestly shocked that she thought he was cheating on Felicity.

“I’m not cheating on Felicity. I love her.”

Donna made sure Felicity was still outside before motioning to where Mr. Smoak had just been sitting, “And I love him. Do you know he gave up three fellowships in Europe and two job offers in Gotham so he could stay in Star City? This is our home and he is brilliant. If I didn’t get pregnant with my baby girl we wouldn’t be together. He’s not living up to his potential and as soon as he realizes it- he’s gone.”

He didn’t think Felicity’s parents had problems, but maybe they were just better at hiding it than others.

“I’m not you and Felicity is not him.” Oliver insisted, not able to look her in the eyes.

“You’re right. She’d follow you to the ends of the Earth. I’m not even sure he’s going to stick around if Felicity’s not here. It’s worse for you. And it grates on you because the first missed opportunity won’t feel like your fault, but when it happens the twentieth time- that changes you.”

He’d always imagined their life after high school, she’d work hard on the next digital revolution and he’d be there supporting his little genius because he loved her.

In this dream, he didn’t sulk over to the kitchen to help Felicity, wondering if he should break up with her, culminating in an airport breakup. In this one, he stayed with her and he went to UMass and became a stay at home Dad to their five kids and he was happy. She was happy. Their five kids were happy.

That’s how he knew it was a dream.

Things never ended up _happy_ for him.

**


	6. Chapter 6

**CHAPTER 6**

**THURSDAY- 1AM**

Tracking his cellphone led her to a garbage can outside of the hotel, and even after that Felicity knew it was a colossal mistake but she turned on the bug in Carter’s cellphone and got into her Mini and followed after them.

Upon arriving at the cliché non-descript warehouse, she held up her hands in a defensive motion while sending her location to Oliver’s mysterious contact at the FBI and was led inside by armed lackeys. Low level if their jeans and t-shirts were any indication.

Oliver was being interrogated by the Goon-In-Charge and while they were talking in Russian, she understood the “nosy bitch” the one of them muttered to the other.

They sat her down next to Oliver and handcuffed her hands together.

They didn’t have time to talk or anything because while she was taking in their surroundings, Oliver was negotiating their release and Carter was nowhere to be found. Maybe he wasn’t the criminal mastermind they thought.

Of course that was his cue to come out of a backroom.

He cracked Oliver in the face once with the back of a gun and watching his body slump over was probably the scariest thing she’d ever seen.

“I almost didn’t buy it, but of course you’d come after him. You followed him around like a puppy.” Carter sneered, “Perfect Oliver. Perfect Felicity. You know I went to college just to get away from you? I tried to ask you out fifteen hundred different times. And then I found out some cop was rifling around the business and this would be the perfect chance to get my revenge.”

He pulled back the hammer on the pistol he was holding, like some old west villain but he thought better of it and instead motioned towards the dock near the back of the building.

 Goon #1 uncuffed her, carrying the chair they plopped her in, Goon #2 carrying Oliver over his shoulder.

“Handcuff them together.”

Thinking they were in the back of a truck, Felicity was sorely mistaken when she heard the telltale whistle of a train.

Which only left her one question: Where the hell were they going?

It was especially boring while Oliver was unconscious. She needed to stay awake for when he woke up so he wouldn’t do something like wrench her arm out of the socket.

His body jerked and she felt him struggle before realizing they were very tightly tied together.

Felicity was tired, and they were handcuffed together and as badass as dislocating her thumb would be, her hands were her lively hood. They might as well talk about their plan to escape-

“Your mother asked me to break up with you.”

“What?” Felicity would look into his eyes if they weren’t back to back. Tommy mentioned something back at the reunion and now was definitely not the time to be talking about their personal life.

“After graduation. She said that you were going to go on to bigger and brighter things and being tied down to me would hold you back. And I didn’t want to believe her, but then when I got into UMass you were talking about apartments and the future and I was a stupid kid and I was so in love with you that I thought that- I was doing the right thing.”

She had spent her first month at school, utterly miserable. If she wasn’t in class she was crying (okay maybe she spent some time cyber stalking him from afar) but she was broken. How was that a better solution than breaking her heart? Even when her parents came for Parents Weekend, her mother was so quick to come down on Oliver which was only on her own guilt manifesting in some sick way.

Her vision swimming the room was suddenly out of focus and she was having problems breathing. Her lungs were working but the oxygen wasn’t reaching her brain.

“Felicity? Are you alright?”

“No. I’m miserable and alone. I thought I was _unlovable_. Do you know I didn’t date one person in college? Not one. Because I didn’t want anyone to hurt me again. Also I think I may be having a panic attack.”

Oliver jerked on the chains, their hands coming free of their chairs and he lifted their arms around her head so he could hold her against his chest. Her arm was wrenched behind her back, but something about smelling the after shave at his neck was comforting.

The train car jolted, the two of them barely compensating. When they got to their destination they were going to be executed mafia-style and she needed to get this off her chest before she lost her chance.

“I love you.” She says instead pressing a kiss to his collar bone.

 Her breathing was suddenly fine, the room wasn’t spinning.  Funny how one confession could really-

“Every day, since we broke up, I have dreamed about you. I thought something was wrong with me, but falling in love with you was meant to be. We are going to get out of this and then I am going to take you for Italian food and then fuck it- We’re getting out of here and I’m cashing out my vacation to spend the week in bed with you.”

Oliver steals her “break the thumbs” idea and gets his hand out of the cuffs.

Taking a hairpin from her hair, he got the cuffs off, rubbing his wrists while he put his back to the door marking their exit.

“We’ve been in the train for at least an hour, if we crossed state borders this is a federal abduction charge. Also this train is moving faster than an average train and our chances of jumping and making a run for it are bad.”

The train comes to an abrupt stop, the wheels stopped but the train still rolling.

“THIS IS THE FBI. YOU ARE SURROUNDED. SURRENDER NOW.”

Felicity doesn’t understand his smile until the door whips open, a tall man smoking a cigar, aviator shades over his eyes.

“Someone mentioned calling for Backup?” The man was smiling which was a good sign.

“John. Thanks for coming. John Diggle, Felicity Smoak.”

The two of them share a look, John looking at her from over his shades. “Come on we’ve got a helicopter to get you back to Star City.”

When they do get back into the city, Felicity felt like drinking her weight in wine. And then sleeping for three days. Thankfully being her own boss was great for situations like that and they finally got back to the hotel she pulled the shades and fell asleep on top of Oliver in her now dirty horrible dress and her broken heels.

**

**THURSDAY AFTERNOON**

“Are you wimping out on me?” Oliver chided, turning around to run backwards.

It was sunny outside and the ocean air felt good on his face while he tried to motivate Felicity to keep running. Her bright pink sports bra exposed her stomach and while he’d rather spend his weekend in bed, she was the one who wanted to run with him.

Which meant he walked semi briskly, turning around every few minutes to make sure she was alright. Any actual running would leave her behind and he was willing to sacrifice his run for her.

Lifting her sunglasses up she grabbed his shirt to wipe her face off and steadied herself on the sidewalk.

“This sucks. How many miles have we run?”

Oliver checked his watch, “.75”

Smiling, he bent his knees so she could hop onto his back and while she may have doubted his physical fitness, he did not doubt her ability to hold on to him using her legs.

Walking towards the café down the boardwalk, she protested about eating in running shorts. He chose to ignore her comments and instead focused on the sun, the cool air and the relaxation. “I’m gonna start jogging, hold on.”

“Oliver I am too heavy for you to-” Her words were jumbled from her bobbing up and down and when they got to the boardwalk he stopped at the workout area and sat down on the grass.

“Come on. I plan on eating my weight in bacon.”

Lying down, he motioned for Felicity to put her hands over his ankles.

“You want me. To hold myself up. while you do crunches.” Felicity had told him to get her off the couch by any means necessary. This wasn’t even that difficult.

She obliged looking, at him expectantly.

“Now when I come up, put your ass in the air. We’ll make a square.”

Oliver pulled up with his body weight and when he came up, Felicity was partially upside down her boobs at the perfect eye level. Which gave him other ideas about having sex upside down that were much more enjoyable.

Coming back down, he repeated the motion a few times before gently turning her over so she would land on her ass.

The clouds started to swirl faster, a storm coming towards them. The rain drops started falling on him and he went to grab Felicity’s hand to head to the café but she wasn’t there.

She wasn’t anywhere.

“Felicity?”

The sound of a door breaking woke him out of his dream, the adrenaline already coursing through his body. He was not going to lose Felicity again. That was something he and his subconscious agreed on.

**

**2005**

Thea had spent the afternoon planning their wedding.

Felicity was amused at the idea but being in charge of your boyfriend’s little sister was a responsibility she did not take lightly. Oliver was being trotted in front of all of his mother’s friends at some charity golf tournament and Rob was on the open waters- fishing somewhere in the Pacific.

“I’m not saying you have to make me your maid of honor, but I would make an excellent bridesmaid.” Thea pointed out, “Also, I am 13. I do not need a babysitter.”

“I’m not getting paid so think of it like we’re just hanging out and I’m that weird friend who makes sure you’re doing your homework.” Felicity joked, twirling her finger and pointing towards Thea’s backpack. The teenager reluctantly goes making a "derp" face at her before heading into the Queen's office/family room.

The front door opens and while Felicity briefly wonders if the Queens have anything that could be used as a weapon, Oliver stomps inside the house barely remembering to remove his cleats before walking on the wood flooring.

She could always tell when he was in a bad mood, but he looked up at her and his face softened.

“Hi.” Leaning over to kiss her cheek he pecked at it twice before removing his golf glove and untucking his polo shirt.

She wasn’t going to ask if he was okay because he wasn’t, “Do you want to talk about it?”

“They said some things about my Dad being a loser. And I didn’t want to be there so I left. My great great great grandfather founded this city and all they can talk about his how my father is a disappointment. Then I told them I wanted to be a Detective, you know, save lives and help people- they laughed at me.”

He had never told her that he wanted to be a police officer.

“I want to do what my dad did, stay home and be there for our kids.”

Felicity doesn’t know why that brings tears to her eyes, but she does her best to avoid his gaze while the two of them sit on the couch in silence.

She wanted that too.

**


	7. Chapter 7

**CHAPTER 7**

**THURSDAY 3PM**

The sound of her door getting kicked in is enough to instantly wake Oliver, going for the gun holster he’d left on her dresser and rolling out of bed in one fell swoop. It would be super hot if he had not just been drooling on her pillow.

Instead of the darkness of 3AM, her clock was definitely lying and said it was 3PM. Which meant they slept for over 12 hours and Oliver, who was a notoriously bad sleeper had really and truly been passed out.

He also apparently drooled now.

His partner? Friend? Diggle was in her living room, apologizing for breaking the door down. He had apparently tried contacting them for the past five hours and when they didn’t respond he’d thought the worst.

“I want a new door. Red. Or purple like on FRIENDS.”

Pulling her robe around her body she padded over to the kitchen to start making coffee while Diggle went over his (probably) confidential files.

They didn’t really do the whole introduction thing, but when Oliver finally pulled a t-shirt on over his head, the two of them were spewing theories back and forth like they’d done it a million times. She added her own two cents in, noting the decidedly low-level lackeys who escorted her in, and their lack of guns- save for Carter’s creepy ass.

The two of them share conspiracy theories at her kitchen table and it’s so obvious that-

“Carter is obviously not the brains of the operation. I don’t know why you guys think he is. He never screamed evil genius to me and he didn’t particularly want to kill me but molest me. This was personal and if you want to get to the root of the organization he’s not going to tell you because he’s one step above bottom-feeder.”

Diggle doesn’t know a thing about her, but he accepts her thoughts as solid and they have a weird bond of people who have known and loved Oliver, who liked being right even if he didn’t admit it.

Especially at the way he visibly paled when she said _molest._

“He asked me out a few times in middle school but wasn’t creepy when I started dating Oliver.”

Diggle looks between the two of them his brain finally filling in the blanks, “This is the girl you dumped right before college? The girl you dream about?”

Oliver is horrible at communicating things, but she understands the death glare he gives Diggle, because it’s the same one he gave Tommy at the reunion.

But Diggle knows him better and explains, “I was in New York and your boy here offered to let me crash on his couch. Well every night he wakes up at random hours either screaming or crying or sleepwalking and that’s why he didn’t pass his detective’s tests. He failed the psych eval twice.”

Felicity scanned her memories of sleeping with him and she couldn’t think of one instance of him acting weird aside from the drooling.

“You don’t have to be a shrink to understand why it doesn’t happen anymore.” Diggle said matter-of-factly, “I’m going to go get some dinner before he starts slapping me around.”

He never said the dreams were nightmares.

“I felt guilty-angry…sad and things I wasn’t capable of processing. And it manifested into my job and work and- I need you. Not to make myself complete or because I’m obsessed with you but because I love you. You make me want to fight for the good things in life and not just wallow in the bad things.”

 What did someone say to a confession like that?

“I love you.” She nodded to herself confirming her words, “Now let’s go catch this asshole.”

**

**2006**

“This is impossible.”

Oliver looked over to Felicity, who was looking at the course catalog for Spring Semester. She had already graduated from college and she needed to take some filler classes to tide her over until graduation.

Coffee dates were probably a bad decision, the girl drank more caffeine in day than most people did in a week. But Starbucks was dead at 2PM and that was the optimal time to hang out with your girlfriend, make out and be home before dinner, “You’re a literal genius. Take art or choir or something. Relax.”

“Homework relaxes me.” Felicity’s lips were in a pout and he could think of better ways to pass the time then sitting drinking cold coffee. Only Felicity would stress about taking electives.

This was also be the only chance in the past year for them to have a class together. The guys on the team were all taking Power Volleyball, but the first day of the quarter they show up in the Foods room. Surrounded by freshmen.

And Barry and Caitlin.

“Don’t feel bad, this happens every year.” The teacher told them. Day One was baking chocolate chip cookies. Felicity was horrible at cooking. Between measuring, stirring- everything, Oliver had to carry the weight. Which was strange when most of his friends got into Harvard.

Caitlin could measure, Barry could stir and- he delegated Felicity to cleanup. Every time.

Anything involving a knife or a liquid needed to be away from Felicity at all times.

Pulling the cookies out of the oven, he smiled at the perfectly round cookies as he set them on a plate. Four on the plate for the teacher, he took another one and shoved it in Felicity’s mouth, chocolate smearing all over her face.

“This is really good Oliver.”

He was going to say it was his father’s influence but the next day when he’s watching Barry whip the cream for the cake he’d made from scratch, he might admit to enjoying cooking.

Especially when he got to feed Felicity afterwards.

“I’m going to take Foods 2 next quarter.” Oliver told Felicity over lunch.

“I’m going to be so glad to be out of that kitchen.” Felicity mumbled, “I know I’m not a good cook. I could probably program a robot to cook for me- I have no life skills.”

Felicity rarely every felt down about herself, but he could tell that she needed a boost. She was capable of so many things he couldn’t even understand and that didn’t make her less of a woman, or less of the person he loved.

 “It’s okay, you’ll always have me to help you.” He meant the words.

“Feeding yourself is kind of a life priority, Oliver. Memorizing Mia Milano’s takeout menu, is not.” Felicity argued, picking up her cell phone and dialing, “Hello. Yes. This is she. Yes. #4 and #17 with extra breadstick. And a salad for Oliver. Yes. Thank You Mama Milano.”

He still liked eating Mia Milano’s and when the food came and she ended up sharing half of her lasagna with him. Italian was their thing and some sort of weird aphrodisiac for them.

At first he thought it was the amazingly good food, but he was starting to think that having traditions, having a pattern was stable. Comfortable. Loving. Her hand reaches across his lap to grab his salad container and stops at his thigh.

“Is your Mom still at work?” Oliver choked, taking the containers and shoving them back into the takeout bag. Her cheeks flushed, and she nodded moving to make sure the door was locked.

They had probably had sex every other day for the better part of two years, but she was always timid when it came to talking about it. Entwining their fingers, Oliver smiled faintly when she sat on his lap.

“We don’t have to have sex if you don’t want to.”

“I want to. I surprisingly always want to, it’s like an affliction. Or an addiction? Or hormones. Or all three. Why do you ask?” Felicity is kind and warm and so utterly beautiful, his brain might finally be catching up to his heart.

Kissing her cheek, he kept their hands together, “You seem nervous about something.”

“I don’t understand why we’re together.”

Oliver didn’t understand, “We’re together because I love you. I’m good at math and okay at English because of you. You are the sunshine in my life. Who cares if you can’t cook? You’re remarkable. We’re young, but I know that ten years from now we’ll be together because you’re my first and only love.”

He meant the words more than anything he’d ever said, “Besides if anything I’m not good enough for you.”

“Don’t say that. Ever.” Felicity wiped the stray tear from her face and cuddled against his chest.

When she fell asleep there 20 minutes later, he tucked her into bed and turned off the light.

Walking down the hallway, he heard someone talking on the phone in Russian. He only knew that because his grandfather’s old housekeeper was Russian and she had tried to teach him Russian one summer when they stayed at the mansion. Why was Felicity’s father speaking Russian?

Mr. Smoak rose an eyebrow at him but said good night.

**

**FRIDAY: 1 AM**

Oliver couldn’t remember which coffee was Felicity’s so he took a sip of one and winced at the four sugars polluting his coffee. Handing the cup to Felicity, he sat down at the table and looked up at the board.

So far they had a lot of nothing. Carter had no ties to anyone or anything and he still wasn’t talking.

“What about the Russian angle?” Oliver was running out of ideas.

Diggle did not look impressed, “What angle? Two dudes speaking Russian is not an angle.”

The whiteboard in the precinct was full of ideas, most of the other guys had gone home hours ago. He needed a nap and Felicity was getting hangry, but the three of them were determined not to leave until they had at least some semblance of a lead.

 “The only two people in my life who ever spoke Russian were Raisa and Felicity’s Dad. So I think it’s an angle.”

Felicity frowned, “My father doesn’t speak Russian.”

“No, he definitely speaks Russian.” Oliver corrected her, retelling the story.  The man was speaking too quietly for him to understand but it was definitely Russian.

In spite, Felicity dialed her father. “Do you speak Russian?”

She made the mouthed the word ‘See?’ to him while she nodded confirming that he did not speak Russian. Grabbing the phone from her he called him a liar in Russian, and then put him on speaker.

“If Dmitri finds out you have my daughter there will be hell to pay! Name your price, you filth.”

He meant it as a joke, but Mr. Smoak obviously did not.

“Dad. Chill. I’m not kidnapped.”

Oliver would never let that happen. And if she was at risk of that happening he (they) had a right to know. He’d always been protective of Felicity but the only other man in her life was her father. That was supposed to mean something.

His mind raced with exit strategies, contacts he knew in certain criminal organization in New York, he would get to the bottom of this-

“-YOU’RE IN THE BRATVA?”

\- Or she would.

Motioning to Dig, his friend rolled his eyes before he diligently started typing, pulling up the latest the FBI had Bratva activity in Star City. Five murders in California alone- all of key players in the area. The ATF consult on the case had scribbled ‘Hostile Takeover?’ on one of their note sheets and they needed whomever S.P. was to fly out ASAP.

Felicity paced back and forth on the phone with her father before nodding.

Diggle pulled out his cellphone to call his superiors and he did his best to comfort Felicity. Wiping the tears from underneath her glasses, she had steeled her resolve and grabbed him by the arm towards his office.

“I don’t need to be comforted right now, Oliver.”

Her fingers went to his tie before turning around so he would unzip her dress. “You know this sexual aggression is not healthy.”

“Neither is being sexually frustrated for the past ten years.” Felicity looked over her shoulder at him and he swore, forcing the zipper down harshly.

His ass was half off the desk, his pants around his ankles and she felt _fantastic,_ rubbing and grinding against him while she held his neck and forced her tongue down into his mouth.

His hands needed something to do and while he got her panties down far enough to allow his hand inside-

“Some things never change, huh?” He knew that voice.

Oliver looked to Felicity and reluctantly withdrew his hand from her panties.

“Sara? You’re SP?”

“Sara Palmer, ATF. Let’s go catch some bad guys.”


	8. Chapter 8

**FRIDAY 8AM**

Oliver woke up with a start, his whole body instantly becoming alert when the car moved over a pot hole. Normally when he woke up he felt like complete shit, so this feeling of being startled was a pleasant change. He didn’t think he’d fall asleep in the SUV but his head was leaning against Felicity’s shoulder, his neck officially cramped.

“Nightmare?” Felicity asked from his shoulder, where she had also tried to doze. They were riding in the back of Sara’s SUV towards Central City, where there had been underground rumblings of a large weapons deal going down

“Not of the usual variety.”  He gave her a tight smile before making eye contact with Sara in the rearview mirror. They had both not wanted her to come but he tended to do whatever Felicity wanted when she pouted at him. It was a character flaw.

Or maybe self-preservation.

If it was just the two of them he’d ask Felicity to massage his neck before he paid her back in some massaging in other places, but he didn’t think the logistics of that would work in the back of the SUV. Especially since their friend was driving.

 “Whatever happens, we’re together. We got this.”

Famous last words.

The windshield shatters and in one move he unbuckles Felicity from her seat and shoves her to the floor, grabbing his gun from his back to roll down on the seat, his feet against the door. When Sara pulls a sharp U-turn, he’s ready to pop up from his crouched position to shoot their assailants.

“Dig! We’re being shot at!” Felicity had his phone to call backup but he couldn’t focus on that.

Popping up again he got the driver’s shoulder and the other car spun out into a building, the other men in the car scrambling.

“Never send a man to do a woman’s job.”

Little Sara Lance got out of the passenger seat and with three bullets took out the rest of the men. “You don’t get to attack my car, my friends, in my city and get away with it.”

She held down the man’s neck with her boot and shot him twice in the head.

Little Sara Lance was apparently not so little anymore.

**

**2005**

“This is not what I expected when you said ‘hanging out’.” Oliver looked over to where Felicity and Ray were working on their science project and where he and Sara were on the couch watching football with her father.

Ray had texted him an address and he had assumed it would have been- you know his house- Oliver came over to the Lance’s and was immediately sat on the couch. Apparently he was called over to hang out with Detective Lance.

The game was over, Gotham Knights won and with that Detective Lance kissed his daughter’s cheeks and stood up. He was a very- tall man and his face meant business.

“If that behemoth inappropriately touches my daughter I want you to call me, and I’ll have SWAT here in five.”

He nodded blankly. Apparently Detective Lance did not know that Sara was a black belt.

 “We haven’t really talked about that,” Sara said finally, after cleaning up the sodas and snacks. “My father would prefer that I was a princess but I have plans. Big plans.”

“You mean besides gymnastics, archery club and tae kwan do and swimming?” Oliver asked.

They had mutual friends who were geniuses and mutual friends who were jocks but Oliver honestly thinks this was the first time the two of them had an actual conversation since they met. The next day at school he walks Sara towards the back soccer fields for gym class and two of them laugh about something their Algebra teacher said when Ray comes barreling out of nowhere, tackling him to the ground.

Oliver can’t remember ever being jumped, but enough of their gym class had converged onto the back lawn to watch Ray Palmer try to beat the crap out of him. While awkward and uncomfortable at first, Ray gained some momentum landing one blow to his ribs that _hurt._

“Dude, get off me!” Oliver growled, tossing Ray off him and scrambling to his feet. “What the hell is your problem?”

Ray looks between him and Sara and Oliver honestly doesn’t understand what’s happening until Felicity’s hand slips into his own and pulls a bandaid out of her backpack.

She moves in front of him, effectively blocking his view of Ray. Felicity is high alert, making sure his face wasn’t broken, “Who was stupid enough to attack you? I mean come on. You’re captain of the lacrosse team, you smash people for fun.”

Oliver motioned behind her and Felicity turned on her heel to look at Ray, utter puzzled, “Uh, guys? What happened?”

“Ray thinks that Oliver’s been trying to steal me away.” Sara spoke finally, uncharacteristically shy. The group dissipated, more shocked that Ray Palmer, Debate Captain, Class President had attacked Oliver Queen than that there was a fight.

“What?” “Huh?”

Oliver tried to scan his memory banks for any such occasion and the only thing he could think about was how cute Felicity looked playing nurse and how they were studying after school at his house. With no parents around.

“Why would you think that?” Oliver said finally, “I spend literally every second of my free time with my hands up Felicity’s skirt. I don’t have time to look at other girls let alone my best friend’s. Now are we good? You two will be late for AP Calc.”

He helps Ray off the ground and dusts him off, handing him his backpack. Kissing Felicity on the forehead, he smacked her butt (gently) and headed for the soccer field.

Sara doesn’t apologize for him because they both know that it will never happen again. And if it does Oliver’s sure Sara could hold her own.

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own Arrow (or the song by Parachute) and make no profit from this work of fiction.


End file.
